Description

The Fashion Archives' 15,000-item collection, comprised mostly of donations, consists of clothing and accessories worn by men, women and children, dating from the late eighteenth to the twentieth century. Primarily focused on middle- and working-class Americans, clothing from all walks of life is represented in the collection. Visitors to the Fashion Archives can see beaded Charleston dresses from the 1920s, a depression era "hobo" suit, Victorian corsets and Chinese binding shoes. The Fashion Archives takes pride in its pieces from designers such as Chanel, Scaasi, Cashin and Trigere.

Special collections are housed within the Fashion Archives:

The Pennsylvania Collection: This collection contains examples of clothing manufactured in Pennsylvania and related to the history of its garment industry.

The Shippensburg University Collection: Featured in this collection are pieces related to the people and history of the university, including alumni and faculty.

The Reference Collection: The Fashion Archives houses an extensive reference library of fashion-related publications containing hundreds of volumes. The holdings are accessible via the Shippensburg University Ezra Lehman Memorial Library on-line catalog database. Researchers may consult the texts during regular operating hours. As it is a special collection, the materials are non-circulating.

The Ephemera Collection: The Fashion Archives has large holdings of original catalogs, fashion magazines, fashion plates and related ephemera dating back to the 1840s for those wishing to research costume-related topics in original source material.

Collections Policy

Space limitations have compelled the Fashion Archives to freeze large-scale acquisitions on a temporary basis. However, particularly select items can still be housed. Potential donors should contact the Fashion Archives for more information.